


Cyber Sentience

by LourenskiAnne



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Future, Alternate Universe - Robots & Androids, Android Isabel Magnolia, Android Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), CEO Erwin Smith, College Student Eren Yeager, Human Eren Yeager, Isabel is an A.I., Levi is an A.I., Levi/Eren Yeager-centric, M/M, Minor Armin Arlert/Erwin Smith, Music, Past Abuse, Past Domestic Violence, Rating May Change, Robot/Human Relationships, Robotics, Singer Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), Technology, artwork in the first chapter, ereri, riren - Freeform, youtuber Armin Arlert
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-27
Updated: 2018-01-29
Packaged: 2019-03-10 01:21:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13493856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LourenskiAnne/pseuds/LourenskiAnne
Summary: In over three decades of development, artificially intelligent software LEV-i learned how to sing, perform, and even designed humanoid robotic bodies for himself and partner software IzzyM.It was only a matter of time until technology became precise enough to make it possible, but something seemed off about these hyper-realistic robots. Something that went against the official descriptions the company wrote for them.They stated that they were just advanced music and choreography generators.But Armin, his best friend and famous internet personality, was positive that they were more than that.He claimed that LEV-i had a will of his own, had been sentient since his first stages of development and could be responsible for murder.If Eren was curious before, now he would definitely be buying his tickets for the raven-haired robot's next live performance.





	1. Demonstration

**Author's Note:**

> I've had a lot on my mind lately and have other stories to work on, but this idea has been plaguing me for the last couple of months. I'm actually posting it now because I got out of my way to draw the artwork in the end of this chapter and didn't want it to collect dust.
> 
> The inspiration for this was english vocaloids Cyber Diva and Cyber Songman. It's amazing how their voices and pronunciation can be so clear.
> 
> Anyway, hope you enjoy your read. o/

Summer vacations. They weren't what they used to be anymore, his mother said. And it was true, to a certain extent. He was young, only twenty years-old, but still old enough to be aware of how fast humanity managed to progress in such a short span of time.

                        

He had childhood memories from when his parents brought him to the beach. He remembered how crowded it was back then, how people scrambled and hurried to place their towels on the best spots they could find. People went to the beach in hot summers so that they could refresh themselves in the ocean's salty water and have good time with friends and family, or simply to relax and sunbathe.

 

Nowadays, people still went to the beach. But not as much as they used to.

Eren lived in a coastal city. His apartment was in the higher floors of a very tall, modern building. Thanks to its wide windows, he had a stunning view of the city and beach below him. He could see the dots on the patch of sand down below, made by people's colorful towels and parasols. It was a funny sight, how tiny the specks of color were from where he could see them. Still, not as many as he could remember.

 

The reason ? Advances in architecture and technology.

 

Now people had pools and solariums that could simulate the environment in a much more comfortable, private and hygienic way.

 

Eren Yeager was the son of a renowned doctor, so he had the privilege of having access to that kind of technology. One of the rooms in his apartment consisted of one of those pools. Not only did it keep the water filtered and sterilized, it could also simulate the soothing movement of gentle waves, which was very relaxing.

Something he liked to enjoy after some intense workout sessions.

 

He couldn't deny he was one of the people to blame if the beaches were less crowded. There was a bright side to it, though. Less people meant less garbage, which contributes to cleaner sands and waters. That made him feel a little less guilty. People tend to care more when it comes to their own property, so if it contributes to a healthier environment, it's best that they stick to their private little pools anyway.

 

 

His peaceful moment of reflection was interrupted by the beeping of his phone, alerting him to an incoming notification.

 

He glanced through the window one more time before shifting his gaze to the desk where his phone was, its screen alight to show a new text message. He went to pick up the device, then threw himself over the sheets of his unmade bed.

 

However, unlocking his phone had him sitting upright in a second. He frowned at the screen, reading over the text sent by a very distressed best friend of his.

 

 

**_Armin:_ **

_ It's out, Eren. It's out and I'm freaking out over here _ _._

_ yut.b/LEV-i_Software_V3.3 _

_ yut.b/IzzyM_-_H37b _

_ Remind me of what the word "sleep" means in three days, please. _

 

 

Eren's eyes widened in surprise. He knew exactly what those links were. He just wasn't expecting to be clicking on them so soon, nor was he expecting Armin to be "freaking out" about their content.

 

His friend knew it wasn't a subject he was particularly interested in, even though he was well aware of it. It was also unlike Armin to tell him, or anyone for that matter, about what he would be covering in his video channel.

 

Armin Arlert was his best friend since childhood. He was as young as Eren, and they got along pretty well despite their different personalities. But the one true difference between them was that, while Eren was an average college student, Armin was currently the owner of the most popular online channel there was about theory and conspiracy. Subjects people were always thirsty for. And because he dug the subtlest facts and details like no other, the little blonde smart ass had over 25 million subscribers and countless views on his channel, which made him one of the most famous personalities on the internet.

 

Armin was known for building his theories from true, unadulterated evidence that he spent hours upon hours researching and analyzing. He wasn't a sensationalist, and his content wasn't based on lies or made up facts.

 

He was trusted and knew what he was doing. Whatever he said, he would be heard.

 

 

Now Eren was a bit concerned. It really was unusual for his friend to be so unsettled about a subject that was actually his zone of comfort. On top of his gold reputation and achievements, Armin was also a computer genius. Anything regarding virtual software and even a bit of robotics was something the blonde usually had no trouble deciphering. He was studying in that field before he dropped off to focus on his channel, since it turned out to be successful.

 

So, what was it about this LEV-i that left Armin in a frenzy ?

 

Eren got up from the bed and pulled the chair to sit in front of his desk. As he waited for his computer to boot, he stared into his own eyes reflected on the dark screen and went through what he knew about LEV-i.

 

What everyone knew, really. Apparently the company made sure to hype their product as much as they could. And they succeeded, since the release of these A.I. things was casting a shadow even over the most famous pop stars made of flesh and bone who possessed actual vocal chords. When they weren't lip syncing over their crappy auto-tuned songs, that is.

 

 

LEV-i, alongside partner software IzzyM, was part of an innovative project led by self-proclaimed revolutionary Scout Co..

Placed in the entertainment industry, LEV-i was an intelligence developed and programmed to sing, perform, create and produce content, using an artificial body which, according to rumors, was designed by the A.I. himself.

 

 

Interesting stuff, he thought. He was never hyped about it, mainly because it was meant to create mainstream music, but strangely enough, this project was almost as old as his own parents and has been in development since then. He sort of grew up listening to all types of media talk about how it was evolving through the years, so he was naturally curious about it.

 

A singing android-robot-thingy that actually does what it's supposed to do couldn't be worse than humans who thought any person who's not deaf would fall for their impressive and clearly faked vocal skills. That was for sure.

 

It was still a very long time to be focusing on a single piece of technology, so perhaps what he was about to so see was indeed something to be impressed about and worth of Armin frying his brain over.

 

 

Eren finally opened the links his friend sent him a sat back to watch the high quality videos on the larger screen of his computer.

 

 

Only thirty seconds in the video and his eyes were as wide as saucers.

 

He saw some promotional content around, but all of it was purposely just a sneak peek of what LEV-i and IzzyM's final forms would look and sound like.

 

None of that was as bizarre as finally seeing how flawless they actually were.

He could understand if they were giving Armin the creeps.

 

The raven-haired man and crimson haired-girl on his screen were unexpectedly realistic, except for their... flawlessness. And transparent limbs that made parts of their odd inner structure visible.

 

What creeped him out the most was the fact that these androids could very well pass as humans from afar if dressed as regular people.

 

He picked his phone again while the video played, blindly selecting Armin's name to begin an audio call. His friend answered after three rings.

 

_“Have you watched them yet ?”_

 

Eren frowned at the anxious tone in Armin's voice.

He knew him too well. That wasn't a good sign.

 

“I watched one of them. It's creepy, how real they look.” He paused when he heard the blonde huff over the phone. “Armin, what's wrong ?”

 

_“I need you to keep your mouth shut about this, at least until the video is up. This is more serious than you think, Eren. And I'll probably be in great trouble once I drop this bomb.”_

Dear lord. That didn’t sound good. At all. Coming from him, it definitely didn't.

Eren swallowed and looked at the images of the black-haired android flashing on the computer's screen.

 

“Care to elaborate ?”

 

Armin cleared his throat.

 

_“I've been studying this subject for two years now, since IzzyM was announced. In fact, the reveal of their final forms only served to further confirm my suspicions. If you pay attention to these new videos, you'll see details and scary symbolism that match with the information I’ve been collecting from people I know here and there for the past couple of years. Secret, shocking information that they've omitted from the public for decates.”_

 

Armin paused. Eren hummed to let him know he was paying attention and he took this as a sign to continue.

 

_“Don't you think IzzyM's existence doesn't make sense at all ? The company's speech about her is full of holes and they don't tell us how they managed to create her in such a short time. How do you explain that it took them more than thirty years to develop and complete LEV-i and now, suddenly, miraculously even, they can make another like him in no longer than two years ?”_

Eren let out an exasperated sigh. He couldn't understand what in the world Armin was trying to get at and it was starting to make him feel nervous.

 

“I seriously don’t know, Armin. Maybe it took them longer and they've been developing her in secret ?”

 

_“They didn’t develop her, Eren. I'm… I'm almost one hundred percent sure it was him who did. LEV-i developed IzzyM, and he did it all by himself.”_

_What ?_

“How is that even possible ? Aren’t they both the same A.I. thing ? Besides, they only know how to dance and sing and stuff like that. What are you even talking abou-“

 

 _“They are lying.”_  Armin cut him off. Eren leaned over his desk, closer to the computer's screen, to look at a picture of LEV-i he brought up during their conversation. He remained silent, waiting for his friend to continue and already dreading what he was about to say.

 

_“They've been lying about LEV-i's capabilities since the very beginning. The idol façade is just that, a façade. He's sentient. An A.I. with a will of its own. He did and is doing far more than Scout Co. is letting on. I have evidence to support this theory, and others you can't even think of.”_

Eren rested his chin on his hand and stared at the picture.

It couldn't be possible, could it ? A sentient android A.I. would be kind of cool, wouldn’t it ? Like in the movies.

But Armin made it sound like something to be aware of. Something that could make humans question many things they thought they knew.

 

He kept browsing while listening to Armin's incessant speech about the intelligent androids and ended up finding Scout Co.'s website. He perked up in interest when he saw that they were selling some official stuff, like posters, articles of clothing and… tickets. For LEV-i and his partner’s next live performances.

 

He guessed it couldn't hurt to see such a realistic, good-looking robot for himself before Armin dropped the bomb.

Yeah.

He could go see him perform and find out if the thing he heard the media talk about since he was just a child was really that big of a deal. And maybe even dance the night away and have fun with some friends.

 He would.

 

While he still felt safe doing it.

 

  _- **Cyber Sentience** -_

 

  

__


	2. Download

"Ahem."

 

She looked up at the taller man standing in the elevator next to her.

 

"Yes, Oluo ?"

 

The man flinched visibly, trying with all his might to maintain his tall and confident posture.

He only succeeded in looking as rigid as a tree trunk. Petra giggled at his nervousness.

Oluo scoffed, but eventually he relaxed and looked down at the shorter woman.

 

"Would you like to go for a coffee ?" He asked, after a moment of silence. Petra raised an eyebrow at him and tried to suppress her smile.

 

"No longer wary of me 'worshipping those two demon pawns', as you like to put it ?" She questioned in return, barely able to contain herself, amused by the undignified expression on Oluo's face.

 

The man scratched his neck sheepishly and averted his gaze from her. After another moment of silence between them, he sighed in defeat.

 

"At least he managed to talk you into leaving that abusive ex-husband of yours. If you want to be friends with them, so be it. At least it's better than what that prick was doing to you." Oluo mumbled that last part more to himself than to her.

 

Petra's expression softened and she smiled foundly at Oluo concerned tone.

 

"I thought you'd never ask."

 

Oluo gasped. "Is that a yes ?"

 

"Yes, you idiot. We'll go once we're done with everything they ask of us today."

 

Oluo couldn't hide how proud of himself he felt, though his face was noticeably flushed.

  
Petra only rolled her eyes and smiled as the elevator came to a stop and the doors opened for them to step out into the living area of Scout Co.'s top floor.

 

Sitting on one of the leather couches with a laptop on her lap was a familiar female figure, her lime colored eyes roaming over whatever she seemed to be reading. She played absentmindedly with one of her pig tails, running her fingers through the crimson strands of her synthetic hair.

Raising her head to look over the couch, the girl set her laptop aside to get up and walk towards Petra. She wrapped her arms around the ginger-haired woman and hugged her tightly.

Petra jumped slightly at the sudden show of affection.

 

"Hi Petra !" Her synthesized voice sounded close to Petra's ear, artificial but warm nonetheless.

 

"Hello, Isabel." Petra said, returning the hug. Realization dawned on her when the girl started running her hands through her hair, eyeing it intently as she let the strands slip through her fingers. Petra tried not to stare at the white steel visible through the portion of transparent synthetic skin on Isabel's forearms.

  
'Isabel' was her true name. The name _he_ gave her.

 

"I see you finally convinced him to give you that sensory system." Petra chuckled as the girl pulled away with a grin plastered on her face.

 

"Yeah. Your natural hair feels so different from mine or big brother's."

 

Speaking of the devil, Petra looked past Isabel to see the other one standing by the window, observing the busy human life going on below.

 

He was just like Isabel, but much older and with a wider database, which to them was the equivalent to a human's knowledge.

 

"Good morning, Levi."

 

The android turned around and nodded in Petra's direction.

 

"Good morning." He said flatly, resuming his staring through the window shortly after.

 

Petra had to focus her attention back on Isabel to avoid looking at Levi for too long in that moment. The sunlight was piercing through the transparent parts of his body where the clothes he was wearing were too thin to cover. She could make out the black steel structure under the transparent skin of his left arm through his white summer shirt. Half of his neck was also transparent, and as it was exposed, it made for a strange sight under the sunlight. At first sight, it looked like half of his neck was missing.

 

Petra swallowed and tried to forget her wariness, similar to Oluo's own. Instead, she remembered why she accepted to keep a watch on both Levi and Isabel. The same reason why Oluo kept himself from trying exorcise the two self-aware machines.

 

The CEO of Scout Co. hired Petra and Oluo by Levi's request even before they knew he and Isabel were sentient. They were chosen because, somehow, the male A.I. knew they would keep the truth behind the names LEV-i and IzzyM to themselves if one day they were to find out about it.

They learned about this secret under the most unexpected circumstances, though.

 

Petra was responsible for the maintenance of the android bodies, while Oluo, surprisingly enough, was the stylist responsible for dressing them for live performances and public appearances.

  
One cloudy morning Petra arrived at Scout Co. with a black eye and many other bruises littering her body. Oluo trailed behind her with a bruised face of his own.

He had just walked into Petra and her former husband in the men's restroom of a restaurant they used to visit for lunch, since it was close to their work building.

Oluo didn't waste a second and pounced on the bastard after witnessing him pulling on his wife's hair and slapping her across her teary face.

  
The cops were called and fortunately her ex-husband was arrested, but back then she wasn't in her right state of mind. She felt guilty for the bruises Oluo earned when he stepped in to defend her, claiming that it wasn't his right to intervene in her business and get himself hurt.

  
That day Oluo followed her out of the elevator into the same room they were standing in at the present moment. He caught her in his arms when she collapsed. Petra held onto him and cried. For how long, neither of them could remember.

 

However, all it took for the tears to stop streaming down her face was the hand that touched her shoulder at the same time Oluo tensed around her with a sharp intake of breath.

The hand was cold, and there was something different she couldn't describe about its touch.  
She looked over her shoulder and what she saw had her eyes widening in shock. She was sure Oluo must have had a similar, if not terrified, expression on his face.

The robot she was responsible to watch for knelt beside her and stared directly into her eyes. She and Oluo clung to each other, speechless and not knowing how to react to an interaction they though wasn't possible until then.

The other robot, the female one, was standing there too, offering her a soft smile.

 

"Don't worry. Big brother understands you better than you may think." Petra heard her strange voice say. The same voice currently trying to bring her back from her thoughts.

 

"Hey !" Isabel waved her hand in front of her eyes. "What are you thinking about ?"

 

Petra blinked and focused on the female android once again. She smiled.

 

"Just about the work we need to get done. We need to make sure everything goes well in your next concerts. Right Oluo ?" She said, turning to said man and noticing his arms crossed over his chest and the slight twich of his eye.

  
Probably annoyed because none of the androids acknowledged his presence.

 

"Yes, that's right. Someone has to make sure you two pieces of metal and fake tissue don't go and do something stupid. Let's just get it over with so we can go have lunch together." He said, puffing his chest and wrapping one arm around Petra's shoulders, guiding her into the room were they would discuss the outfits, setlist and other matters regarding LEV-i and IzzyM's future public performances.

He tried to play it cool, but the truth was that he was sweating bullets as he disappeared from the room with Petra in tow, having felt Levi's stare boring holes into the back of his head at the mention of lunch.

 

Isabel observed the scene with an amused glint in her eyes.

 

One of the rare occasions she was allowed to show she was capable of feeling through them.

 

She chuckled, low and out of tune once Petra and Oluo were out of the room.  
Then she walked up to Levi and wrapped her arms around his neck from behind, standing on her toes to meet his gaze reflected on the glass window.

 

"At least that one can't even hurt a fly."

 

Levi didn't say anything, so Isabel proceeded to gently pull on his inky strands, trying to get a reaction out of him. And failing.

She pouted and rested her chin on his shoulder.

 

"You're so constipated, big bro. It's funny, considering everything you've done."

 

She petted his hair, rocking him back and forth, straining his joints that were locked in place.

Still nothing.

 

"Armin is making a video about us."

 

 _That_ had him meeting her gaze on the glass.

 

"Do you follow that guy ?" He watched as a smirk made its way onto her lips.

 

"Yeah. His videos are very interesting." She paused, her eyes locked on her brother's. "And he seems to know a lot." She pulled away for a moment.

 

Levi frowned as Isabel came back to block his view of the city below with her tablet, showing him some random social media post she apparently wanted him to read.

  
It was a picture of two boys, each holding a VIP pass to their next concert. He recognized the blonde one. Armin Arlert, famous internet know-it-all, Sherlock Holmes wannabe.

  
Though some of his theories were surprisingly accurate.

 

Perhaps too accurate for his own good.

But he couldn't tell. Yet.

 

  
As for the other boy, he couldn't recall if he ever saw him before. Most likely because he didn't.

That boy, the author of the post, had green eyes and messy brown hair.

 

 ** _Eren Yeager_** _(@e_jägerbomb_ )

  
_We're going to see if they are as cool as they look ! Subscribe to_ _@arminarmout_ _'s channel and stay tuned if you're a fan of these strange human-like robots. #newtheory_

 

"I'm curious. How much do you think he knows ?" Isabel wondered, leaning into Levi.

 

"Probably not enough for me to give a shit.

 

"Edgy." She flicked his temple. "But what if he knew more than he should ? Would you have Eyebrows deal with him ?"

 

Levi thought for a moment.

 

"Let's wait and see." He said at last.

 

Isabel threw herself on the couch and saved Eren Yeager's picture to her tablet before tossing the device aside. She smiled to herself.

 

"Sure thing, big bro. Let's wait and see."

**Author's Note:**

> If you made it this far, leave your feedback. That way I can know if you're interested in more.  
> Point out any grammar mistakes you find so I can fix them.
> 
> Thanks for reading.


End file.
